Welcome to Sparta

We want to welcome you to Sparta, please feel free to enjoy our southern hospitality as we welcome you to our little town. As fans of "In The Heat Of The Night" we hope you enjoy this site as much as we do. We hope you will sign up to be a subscriber to this site so that you can keep up with all things Heat.

Carroll O'Connor As: Chief/Sheriff Bill Gillespie

Hugh O'Connor As: Lt. Lonnie Jameson

Dan Bigger As: Dr. Robb

Howard Rollins Jr. As: Det. Virgil Tibbs

Lois Nettleton as: JoAnne St. John

Season 4 (1990-1991)

In the fourth season, Carroll O’Connor took complete control of the show by firing the entire writing staff, except for Cynthia Deming and William J Royce, making them Story Editor(s).

The season begins with the birth of Virgil and Althea’s twins. William and Sarah Tibbs were welcomed into the world on September 18, 1990. While Althea was waiting to go into labor, Tibbs’s friend from the Philadelphia police force is murdered and he heads up to the “big city” to clear his friend’s name, only to be arrested himself. It is now up to Chief Gillespie to find out the truth, clear Virgil’s name, and make it home in time.

Other topics this season include the murder of a prostitute; a teacher falsely accused of molesting a child, who commits suicide when he is fired from his job in spite of his proven innocence; a woman with an intellectual disability getting pregnant and burying her child; the introduction of Bobby Johnson, after his brother is killed in a drug shootout; a scam involving another one of Virgil’s friends; a bounty hunter; and a serial rapist stalking Sparta.

Virgil arrests his cousin, who shoots himself in the struggle for a gun, becomes a paraplegic, and goes to prison. The boy’s mother, Virgil’s Aunt Ruda, blames Virgil for the incident and cuts herself off from the rest of the family, insisting, “There ain’t no family. Not for me…not no more”

Another story involves the conviction of Harriet DeLong’s ex-husband Vic for plotting to rob his former employer in a revenge scheme. Three men, on a misty Sunday morning, shoot a security guard at the Lambry plant and steal a bundle of money waiting to be paid out on Monday morning. Harriet’s son Eugene also gets involved when he tries to assist his father and almost loses his life. The case brings Bill and Harriet closer together, while it drives a wedge between Harriet and Eugene. As the relationship between Harriet and Bill begins to evolve, all of Sparta wonders how a relationship like that could exist and be accepted in the South. Harriet’s ex-husband eventually gets the death penalty for his crime, leaving Harriet and her son at odds. They continue to resent each other because of conflicting loyalties to Vic and Bill.

The season closes with Althea almost having a breakdown over the stress of Virgil’s job on the police force after he is almost killed by a stray bullet and does not tell her about it. On top of that, she is also worried that her children will grow up without their father, and she begs him to try something different. Chief Gillespie burns up the wires and gets Virgil on his way to law school, and Althea apologizes for not being more understanding as she & Virgil share a glass of wine together.

Gillespie sends Parker to confirm suspicions that a local truck stop is really a front for a prostitution business. When a young prostitute is found dead Gillespie is shocked at her fathers reaction. Parker is dismayed when he recognizes one of the ladies.

Bubba is reunited with his high school sweetheart, but his happiness is short lived after she resorts to murder to silence an attorney who was threatening to stop her from inheriting her late husband’s estate.

Gillespie receives word that a former Spartan is wanted for the murder of a socialite in Houston. But a ruthless bounty hunter, sent by the victim’s jealous husband is already in Sparta and sees the man’s sister as a means to locate his quarry.

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Check out all that Sparta has to offer. Aka Covington Georgia, which is home to "Hollywood of the South". Several films as well as TV shows have been filmed in Covington. Check out their visitors center here